File compression is a really good way of reducing the size of large amount of data so it can be easily shared over the web. Though, the most popular and widely used format for it is ZIP, but a number of other formats are also emerging and disappearing which aim at being more efficient than ZIP. Most of the operating systems support ZIP format quite nicely, but Windows 7’s compression feature is not that flattering. Plus for RAR or ARC files having a dedicated compression app is a must. So we are going to present a list 5 Best Free File Compression Windows Apps available out there. Check them out!
This one is a really popular tool in China, and that too for a reason: it is a very efficient tool. It has a nice and customizable interface. It boasts almost all the features you can wish for, such as, Windows context menu support, archive splitting, joining, encryption, self-extracting archive creation and many more. It also allows mounting virtual CD-ROM images, MD5 hash comparison and has an inbuilt photo viewer which lets you view photos without extracting them.
PeaZip is one of the most popular and used apps of its kind. Its native compression format is PEA, but it also supports a number of different formats for creating archives and boasts more than 150 formats that it can extract files from. This feature rich app is available on the three major OS – Windows, OSX and Linux.
This one offers 4-5 packing formats and various unpacking formats, along with encryption, windows context menu support, self-extracting archives and more. Customizing the context menu is possible so that your most used features are easily accessible. “Preview archive” option is also available in the context menu that allows taking a peek at the archive without opening it.
Hamster free ZIP Archiver is a unique archive manager. You can drop files onto the interface for creating a compressed archive. Simply name the archive, choose the compression level and then put it wherever you need it. For extracting the files, just drag in the archive and drop the extracted files out. It is a perfect app for all those who want a simple and hassle free tool.
It has tabs for different functions within the app. “Create” tab has the similar folder tree from Windows Explorer in which you can choose the files and folders to archive. Simply select your options and then create the archive. The “Manage” tab, allows editing or extracting an archive and checking activity logs for each job in the “Reports” tab. It also offers a password manager that lets you keep all your usernames and passwords safe.
